Special Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Update – Jan. 31

I hope all of our Kickstarter supporters and Robotech® fans will be pleased with the news in this Special Update.

We have decided that, in order to start getting Robotech® RPG Tactics™ products into your hands as soon as possible, we are going to release the Kickstarter items in TWO waves. Wave One products will ship to Kickstarter supporters as soon as we get them; probably early June, 2014. If we’re really lucky, possibly in May. A few weeks later, the Wave One products will ship to distributors.

If we wait until EVERY item in the Kickstarter has gone through engineering, tooling, and quality control before sending it ALL into manufacturing, you will not get them until freakin’ Autumn. We don’t want that, and we know you sure don’t.

By splitting the product release into two shipments, one in the Spring and the other in the Fall, we get to release Wave One to fans who are dying for this product, and you get to start playing and building armies and having fun. We think this is a good solution and hope you do, too.

Kickstarter WAVE ONE Items

– Ship May/June, 2014 to Kickstarter Supporters

Wave One will give you the main box game, the rules, color guide and the 34 figures that come in the box. You will also get the first six retail expansion packs. EVERYTHING you need to get going building and painting your Robotech® armies, and to start playing games.

4. UEDF Spartan Pack – Wave One

5. Zentraedi Regult Battlepod Squad – Wave One

6 Regult Tactical Battlepods – the lightning-quick Regults, armed with a pair of particle cannons and auto-cannons, attack in wave after wave.

6. Zentraedi Artillery Battlepods – Wave One

4 Zentraedi Support Battlepods, each of which can be made into any of the following:Gluuhaug-Regult – Light Artillery BattlepodSerauhaug-Regult – Heavy Artillery BattlepodTelnesta-Regult – Experimental Particle Beam BattlepodFour figures total.

1 Quel-Gulnau Recovery Pod – enhances the Glaug’s ability to bring in Battlepod reinforcements. Note: This figure has NEVER before been offered by any company.

8. Battle Foam Carrying Case – Wave One (tentative)

For those of you who ordered one, we will try to have the Robotech® RPG Tactics™ carrying case available to ship with Wave One. If not, it will be shipped in Wave Two. But Wave One is looking pretty good.

Battle Cry and Showdown Note

The Wave One portions of Battle Cry, Showdown and Reckless will ship as part of Wave One. Here’s a breakdown of what that will entail:

Battle Cry: Main box game (containing 5x Valkyries in all three modes, 2x Tomahawks, 2x Defenders, 12x Regults, 1x Glaug, 1x Quel-Regult, and 1x Quel-Gulnau), plus 4x Valkyries in all three modes, 2x Spartans, 2x Phalanxes, 12x Regults, 4x Artillery Battlepods, 1x Glaug, 1x Quel-Regult, and 1x Quel-Gulnau. That’s 69 out of the total 96 game pieces that come with Battle Cry. The remaining 27 game pieces will ship to you with Wave Two.

Showdown: Two main box games (containing 10x Valkyries in all three modes, 4x Tomahawks, 4x Defenders, 24x Regults, 2x Glaug, 2x Quel-Regult, and 2x Quel-Gulnau total), plus 8x Valkyries in all three modes, 4x Spartans, 4x Phalanxes, 24x Regults, 8x Artillery Battlepods, 2x Glaug, 2x Quel-Regult, and 2x Quel-Gulnau. That’s 138 out of the total 192 game pieces that come with Showdown. The remaining 54 game pieces will ship to you with Wave Two.

Reckless: Four main box games (containing 20x Valkyries in all three modes, 8x Tomahawks, 8x Defenders, 48x Regults, 4x Glaug, 4x Quel-Regult, and 4x Quel-Gulnau total), plus 16x Valkyries in all three modes, 8x Spartans, 8x Phalanxes, 48x Regults, 16x Artillery Battlepods, 4x Glaug, 4x Quel-Regult, and 4x Quel-Gulnau. That’s 276 out of the total 384 game pieces that come with Reckless. The remaining 108 game pieces will ship to you with Wave Two.

Add-Ons: All Add-Ons that are made up of Wave One game pieces will ship with Wave One. That includes the Valkyrie Wing, Destroid Pack, Spartan Pack, Regult Battlepod Squadron, Artillery Battlepods, Command Pack, and hopefully the Battle Foam Bag, as mentioned above. This may also include the Tomahawks from the Daedalus Attack Add-On, but the logistics of splitting that item are unknown at this time.

WAVE TWO Kickstarter Fullfillment – Fall, 2014

– The balance of ALL the remaining Kickstarter items should ship by October

The Kickstarter exclusives and EVERYTHING else that was part of the Kickstarter will ship in the Fall, probably September or October. We actually hope to ship much sooner, but we can NOT promise that. Obviously, we would love to have ALL the remaining Wave Two product in time for Gen Con Indy ourselves, and that is what we are working toward, but that seems quite unlikely. After Wave Two items have been sent to Kickstarter supporters, we will ship the next wave of retail products to distributors.

Please keep in mind...

This is still the game you supported. It is just shipping in two parts and later than any of us would like.

This is the game you have wanted for more than 25 years! And you are going to get it.

Think about why you are so frustrated and perhaps even angry about the Robotech® RPG Tactics™ delays. It’s because you want it so badly you can’t stand it. You want it now! Us too! That’s why we have decided to ship in two waves, so you can get enough to start building and painting your armies, learning the rules and PLAY as soon as possible!

Splitting the Kickstarter shipments into two waves will cost us more money, but Palladium Books and Ninja Division are willing to eat those extra costs to get this great product into your hands. We are committed to Robotech® and you.

By the time you’re into the groove and jonesing for more, Wave Two arrives to expand your armies and the scope of battles. And Kickstarter supporters will be getting some items that will not be released on the retail market for many months to follow. Nice.

I know it’s not what you were expecting. Neither were we, but we think this is a good solution. We hope you do, too.

The mantra between Palladium Books and Ninja Division in recent weeks has been, we need to do “whatever it takes to get this product into our customers’ hands as soon as possible.”

Wave One should ship no later than June! Actually, we’re shooting for May, but at this stage we don’t know if that’s possible and do NOT want to disappoint you if things should get pushed back again. June seems to be a pretty safe ship date.

Wave One will start to ship to Kickstarter supporters the day the product arrives at our warehouse from China! How committed is everyone? Not only is Palladium pulling out all the stops, but John Cadice, the Creative Director of Ninja Division, told us he, and maybe some of his crew, may actually fly to Michigan to help ship product for the first few days!

In the end, other than unwanted delays, nothing has changed. You will get the game and products you supported, and the hours of fun that comes with them. We want a quality product that thrills and pleases Robotech® fans around the world. That’s a lot of responsibility, but we welcome it and will deliver it.

Keep the faith. This is a very viable plan. We are getting close. You will be pleased.

UPDATE: Australia

More good news. ALL Palladium Robotech® products will be available in Australia & New Zealand. To our friends in Australia and New Zealand, you can purchase ALL Palladium Robotech® products, effective March 1, 2014. Palladium’s Robotech® products are also available in the USA, Canada, the UK and the rest of the EU. Starting tomorrow, we’ll have the first wave of Robotech® RPG retail products available for pre-order in our online store, and they’ll ship out right after the Kickstarter items ship in May/June. If you’ve got a local game store you’d rather get them from, that’s great! Please let them know you’re interested in Robotech® RPG Tactics™.